Newsletter

I-40 stop nets 68 pounds of marijuana

Official says marijuana was traveleing from California to Arkansas

AMARILLO — An Illinois man was arrested and booked on the Oldham County Jail on a charge of possession of marijuana after a state trooper found 68 pounds of the drug during a traffic stop Wednesday near Vega, the Texas Department of Public Saftey said.

The trooper stopped a 2013 Ford Explorer driven by Ben Vongsiri, 43, of Rockford, Ill., for speeding about 9:30 a.m. on Interstate 40 five miles east of Vega, according to a DPS news release.

During the stop, Vongsiri gave the trooper permission to search the vehicle, DPS said. The trooper found 68 pounds of marijuana inside of several cardboard boxes and a plastic bag in the cargo area, DPS said.

The marijuana and was being transported from Fresno, Calif. to Fort Smith, Ark., DPS said.